THE Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) called for policy-makers to support research and development on information technology that can provide “timely and crucial” climate and weather information.
PhilRice Executive Director Calixto Protacio said there is a need for the country’s decision makers to support technological innovations, such as the Philippine Rice Information System (PRISM).
“Advancing information technology can lead to timely and crucial information on which farmers and other stakeholders can base their decisions—surely leading to competitiveness in the rice supply chain,” Protacio said in a statement.
Dr. Jimmy Quilang, PhilRice deputy executive director for research and PRISM project leader, said valuable information can help decision makers act immediately, in case of disasters and implement adjustments and improvement on the country’s food-security plans.
PRISM, the Department of Agriculture’s information system, is based on satellite data and ground observations. The PhilRice said this system is helping the Philippines monitor rice production, as well as prepare for and mitigate the effects of disasters to rice areas.
Since 2014, this monitoring and information system has been generating timely seasonal data on rice areas and yield. It also provides an assessment of crop health and damage in the event of typhoons, flood or drought.
For instance, the 443 satellite images gathered across the country during the 2014 and 2015 rice-cropping seasons were used in rice-area mapping and damage assessment, PhilRice said.
The research institute said some of these images were used to map flood-affected areas in Nueva Ecija, where last year’s Typhoon Lando hit, while some were used to help assess drought-affected areas in Mindanao since last year.
“These pieces of information are very useful in improving damage and loss assessment to assist in providing appropriate interventions for rehabilitation and recovery, and to improve predisaster preparedness,” DA Field Operations Service Director Christopher V. Morales said.
The Philippines is the first country in Southeast Asia to have an effective and operational system, according to PhilRice. As such, Quilang considers PRISM a “breakthrough in rice history.”
“Given various locations, planting dates and effects of extreme weather events, we can now have a better, faster and accurate assessment of rice areas, yield estimates, and forecast through the power of remote sensing,” he said.
PRISM is one of the seven projects under the Food Staples Sufficiency Program. It is a collaborative project among the International Rice Research Institute, PhilRice and the DA. The PhilRice said the DA will continue the project beyond 2017.
The development and implementation of PRISM in the Philippines are funded under the DA’s National Rice Program and managed and monitored by the Bureau of Agricultural Research.